NAVY’S NEW DESTROYER LIKELY TO BE BASED HERE

San Diego 
The Navy said the first of its new Zumwalt-class destroyers likely will be homeported in San Diego, an announcement that reflects the Pentagon’s ongoing trend of placing more warships where they can quickly deploy to the western Pacific.

The decision was included in remarks that the ship’s commander, Capt. James Kirk, prepared for the vessel’s crew members. The message was meant to welcome the crew to Maine’s Bath Iron Works, where the ship is being built.

The ship, named Zumwalt, is one of three that will make up a new generation of destroyers. The others are the Michael Monsoor and the Lyndon B. Johnson.

Monsoor was a Coronado-based Navy SEAL who died after throwing himself on a grenade in Iraq on Sept. 29, 2006. He is credited with saving at least two teammates and several Iraqi soldiers, and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

In his written remarks, Kirk said: “Zumwalt’s eventual home port has not been finalized, but San Diego is the planned home port with arrival there expected in mid to late 2016.”

The 610-foot Zumwalt, which is nearly 90 percent built, will be the largest destroyer ever constructed for the Navy. It also will be the stealthiest; the ship has a low, narrow design meant to produce a very small radar signature. The design somewhat resembles a Civil War ironclad ship.

In addition, the Zumwalt-class vessels will provide more shore bombardment firepower than the Navy has had since it decommissioned the last of its battleship in the early 1990s.

The Zumwalt is named after the late Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, a Bronze Star recipient who served as chief of naval operations during the Vietnam War.